With its citywide composting system and high recycling rates, Portland is often thought of as a trash-conscious city. Still, Portlanders throw away nearly one million tons of garbage each year – that’s waste that’s not being reused, recycled, or converted into alternative forms of energy. Could we be doing better?

BlueHorse Skelton and her students in Portland State University's Indigenous Nations Studies program are helping to incorporate Native traditions into the urban landscape for food, medicines and ceremonies.

An exhibit hall filled with historic locomotives in the shadow of the new Tilikum Crossing – a symbol of the Portland region's transportation future – made for an interesting setting Wednesday for the first of three events in a new discussion series on infrastructure crises and sustainable solutions. Here are a few nuggets from the evening's conversations about addressing long-term regional infrastructure challenges:

The Portland metropolitan area has a well-earned reputation for recycling. In 2013, more than 64 percent of what businesses and residents threw away was recovered through reuse, recycling, composting or energy generation.

The Clackamas County Commission and Metro Council haven't always seen eye-to-eye in the last few years. From light rail to greenhouse gas reduction, conversations between the county and regional government seem to have been more about disagreements than solutions. But the tide, it seems, is turning. After a two-hour joint work session at Clackamas County's office complex Tuesday, it was clear the two boards have a lot to work on – together.

Ken Yu runs Wing Ming Herbs, a business founded by his mother, which not only sells a variety of medicinal herbs but has also developed a mixed-use courtyard shopping center near the corner of 82nd and Division. Yu, whose family comes from Guangzhou, China, has seen a lot of dramatic change in the 82nd and Division area since 1996.

The Metro Council enjoyed several sneak peaks Thursday before and during a special meeting at the Centro Cultural de Washington County in Cornelius, as Metro's parks and nature staff shared updates on work to acquire, restore and open natural areas and parks in Washington County with money approved by the region's voters in 1995, 2006 and 2013.

Whether your roots in the region run generations deep or you moved to Oregon last week, you have your own reasons for loving this place – and Metro wants to keep it that way. Help shape the future of the greater Portland region and discover tools, services and places that make life better today.